Audit Report Exposes Dual Salary Fraud By Two Political Appointees Of Ondo Governor Aiyedatiwa

 

Two officials appointed by Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa—one as Secretary for Akoko North West Local Government and the other as Caretaker Chairman of Akoko South South Local Council Development Authority—are facing allegations of receiving dual salaries from two government roles, which breaches legal regulations.

These allegations surfaced in an audit report regarding local governments in Ondo State, released by the state government and accessed by Ilufoye Noah's Blog.

The report indicates that "Mr. Amubieya Samuel Adeniyi was an employee of the Akoko North West Local Government in Okeagbe Akoko, on Grade Level (GL) 13 Step 4, prior to his appointment as Secretary to the Akoko North West Local Government in August 2024."

During the audit, it was revealed that he was "drawing salaries both as a civil servant and concurrently as a political office holder, resulting in him receiving double payments from the same government."

The audit office highlighted that these "irregular salary payments" occurred from the date of his appointment as Secretary up to the report's writing (August 2024 to February 2025).

The audit report articulates that these actions violate Section 309, Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule of the constitution, specifically Section 2 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, which forbids dual payments.

The auditors recommended that Samuel Adeniyi should "repay the amount of ₦995,448.34 within two weeks of receiving the report and submit the corresponding Treasury Receipt (TR) to the office of the Auditor General for Local Governments for verification."

Additionally, the report implied that Samuel exhibits a tendency for dishonesty in public positions.

It was also reported that "Mr. John Ayo Emmanuel, a Treasury Department official on salary grade level 14 step 6, appointed by the executive Governor to serve as caretaker chairman of Akoko South South LCDA from August 2024," was also found to be involved in double dipping by receiving salaries from both his political appointment and his civil service position.

The auditors expressed their disappointment in John Ayo, stating that as a management-level officer, he should be aware that collecting "double salaries from the same government simultaneously" is not permissible.

The audit report mandated that "a total of one million five hundred and fifty-nine thousand, six hundred and thirty-one naira should be recouped from Mr. John Ayo Emmanuel for the statutory salaries and allowances he received while also obtaining political compensation, and his statutory salaries should cease immediately."

In response to the situation, Governor Lucky's Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, stated that the matter would be thoroughly investigated.

"This will be looked into, and appropriate actions will be taken by the government," he said.